KONQER Saipan winner expects bigger turnout

Maj. Timothy Patrick takes on one of the obstacle courses in last year’s KONQER Saipan at the Eloy S. Inos Peace Park. (Contributed Photo)

Inaugural KONQER Saipan champion Maj. Timothy Patrick won’t be able to defend his title in this year’s obstacle course race, but despite his absence he expects a bigger turnout for the April 28 event.

“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to defend my title as I will likely be out of the area on Marine Corps business, otherwise, I would love the opportunity to visit Saipan again during the race. Among other things, I expect an even bigger turnout this season as I see lots of returning competitors as well as new competitors as the word about KONQER in the Marianas grows,” Patrick said.

The 45-year-old ruled last year’s 2.16-kilometer course, completing the 12 obstacles, including the 32-meter incline wall, in 37:08.

“I do expect the race will continue to grow because Kaz Endo and Kelly Weld (race coordinators) accomplished the nearly impossible task of successfully integrating recreation and real competition into one event. This is not something I have encountered in any other competition venues because if you’re in a competitive sport, you’re out for blood. If you’re engaged in an event just for completion, you’re left wondering how you would have placed and KONQER gives you the best of both worlds,” Patrick added.

Patrick reminisced on last year’s KONQER Saipan, describing it as both unique and amazing.

“KONQER is unique because it requires endurance and stamina for the first part of the race and agility and strength for the second part. Physically, the best way to train for full-spectrum races is full-spectrum workouts which include speed-work, strength training, good cardio, such as wind sprints. Playing with my kids accomplishes all these things,” he said.

“Saipan KONQER races were amazing as I expected the normal pre-race jitters and the typical bio-physical reactions that accompany these competitions. But KONQER was different as the natural beauty of Palau, Saipan, and Guam washed all that away. All I kept thinking on each race was ‘I can’t believe I’m here’ this must be the most beautiful place on Earth,” he added.

Although Patrick competed in the individual event, that did not prevent him from being a team player.

“When I asked permission from my colonel to form a team to compete in KONQER, he said, ‘only if you win’ and I did as I was told. That was all the motivation any of us needed,” he said.

“I have never encountered challenges that I thought were impossible. The Marine Corps culture is likely to blame. Mission accomplishment is always the number one priority—there are no other choices. And when you have no choice, there is no limit to what you can accomplish,” he added.

Since he will miss this year’s KONQER Saipan, Patrick has to settle for giving advice to the participants.

“For individual competitors, be well-rounded. KONQER requires strength, speed and endurance. We tell the young Marines that gorillas are strong, but they’re a liability because they can’t get to the fight quickly. Likewise, rabbits are fast, but they’re not strong enough to compete with the enemy. You need to be a well-rounded, relentless animal great in strength and fleet of foot,” he said.

“Teams should practice moving together and good communication between team members helps facilitate the flow from one event to the other with minimal time wasted. For fun and business level participants, there is no better method of creating teams and building camaraderie than team exercises. As long as all players realize that goal is to have fun and spend time with each other, you can’t lose,” he added.